50 Cent and Brian Miller, at a 2010 Grand Rapids screening of "Caught in the Crossfire."MLive file photo

Brian Miller recently took a significant step forward in his film directing career – and then took a much-needed vacation.

In the past year, the East Grand Rapids native helmed a pair of movies starring Bruce Willis, shooting them back-to-back in Alabama: “Vice,” due in 2015, and “The Prince,” which debuted via on-demand services Aug. 22. Beyond working with an actor he watched in many films growing up – he cites Willis’ “Die Hard” as a favorite – Miller enjoyed significantly bigger budgets and more creative freedom during filming than he did for any of his previous directorial efforts, which include “Caught in the Crossfire” and “House of the Rising Sun,” both shot locally during the heyday of Michigan’s film incentives.

“They’re a huge leapfrog for me from what I was doing,” Miller said, calling from his home in Studio City, Calif., on the eve of leaving for a week's vacation in Puerto Rico. “This can be a tough business – you’re traveling quite a bit, shooting in incentive states. I got an opportunity and I just dove on it.

“Coming off those smaller tier films, it’s a nice change of pace. When I have a nice crew and director of photography, it takes my vision to the next level.”

“The other films were smaller projects, and put a lot of cooks in the kitchen,” he said. “(Producers are) constantly trying to re-write things. Sometimes those smaller budget films get caught up in behind-the-scenes shenanigans. You don’t have the budget, the crew, the time to shoot. I came up doing those smaller projects, and you learn everybody’s jobs, all the moving pieces and parts. You take some black eyes, but you really learn from it. When you get the budget, you’re prepared. You’re ready to rock and roll.”

The director called “The Prince” a “modern-day Western,” and said he was inspired by films such as Kevin Costner’s “Open Range” and Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven.” The film stars Jason Patric as a retired mercenary dragged back into the criminal underground when his daughter is kidnapped. Patric’s former partner is played by John Cusack, and Willis is a crime lord; supporting performances come from Korean pop star Rain and Jonathan Schaech.

“It’s about a gunslinger being brought back to something that he’s worked so hard to get away from,” Miller said. “I don’t think people will expect what they’re going to see.

“Patric doesn’t play the stoic action hero that just grunts and groans and shoots people,” he added. “Instead you’re watching a quality actor take it to the next level.”

Miller graduated from East Grand Rapids High School in 1993, and studied acting and film first at Grand Rapids Community College, then Grand Valley State University. He finished his degree in 1999 and moved to Los Angeles in 2003, where he wrote and pitched screenplays while working day jobs in sales and marketing. He got his break in 2009, when producer Randall Emmett gave the green light to his screenplay for “Crossfire”; the film starred Chris Klein (“American Pie”) and rapper 50 Cent, and was released on DVD after one public screening at Grand Rapids’ Celebration Cinema North.

After “House of the Rising Sun” filmed in his hometown in late 2010, Miller shot “Officer Down” in Connecticut with star Stephen Dorff. “The Outsider” followed, a Louisiana production starring Jason Patric and James Caan, and debuted on-demand earlier this year.

John Cusack and Jason Patric star in "The Prince."Courtesy photo | John Estes

Although he’s proud of “The Prince,” Miller called “Vice” “a game-changer.” No release date has been determined yet; it’s still in the post-production process, and test screenings are pending. But it’s likely to be seen by more people than any other film on his resume.

“Guys like us that grew up on sci-fi movies – it’s just an original story. You just want to dive into it,” he said.

“Vice” and “The Prince” were also produced by Emmett under the Emmett/Furla/Oasis banner. Emmett used to have an office in Grand Rapids, out of which he spearheaded several locally shot films, including 50 Cent movies “Gun,” “Things Fall Apart” and “Setup,” which also starred Willis.

Alongside Willis, “Vice” also stars Thomas Jane (“The Mist”) and Ambyr Childers. Its plot summary on the Internet Movie Database reads, “A resort that offers its wealthy clients a chance to live out their fantasies suffers a mishap that causes one of its staff members to seek out revenge.” Otherwise, Miller hesitates to discuss the film in too much detail, but reveals that he cast his dad, Ric Miller of Rockford, as a bartender.

In Mobile to visit his son during filming, the elder Miller ended up filling in when an actor dropped out at the last minute.

“He had two pages of dialogue. He had his own trailer, and went through hair, makeup, wardrobe. He tried to tip the hair and makeup girl,” Miller laughed.

“He told me, ‘You know, if it didn’t’ work, you can cut me out of the film.’ But he nailed it.”

Miller said he often returns to Grand Rapids to visit family and catch an East Grand Rapids football game or two. He’ll be in town Sept. 10, visiting Grand Rapids Community College for a 6 p.m. workshop, sharing movie-business tips and anecdotes for filmmakers, students and actors. Tickets are $20, $10 for students with ID, and proceeds will benefit Actors’ Theatre.

Outside of developing a screenplay for a “Cape Fear”-type psychothriller, Miller has yet to solidify his next project. But he says he dreams of shooting a big-budget, big-studio action movie someday.

“I would love that,” he said. “Anybody that says they’re not into that kind of thing - I don’t buy it. I grew up on movies like ‘Die hard,’ ‘Lethal Weapon,’ great pieces of cinema in the ’80s and ’90s.

“But you won’t find me doing any romantic comedies, because I’m clearly not funny,” he laughed.

John Serba is film critic and entertainment reporter for MLive and The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at jserba@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.